Sherwood refuses to rule out extra help for ‘scared’ Villa players

Tim Sherwood says he is considering hiring a sports psychologist to help Aston Villa’s ‘scared’ players in their battle against relegation, reports the Daily Mail.

Sherwood watched his side go down to a 2-1 home defeat to Stoke City in his first game in charge, with Victor Moses breaking Villa hearts with a last minute penalty.

Prior to his appointment, Villa had dropped into the bottom three under Paul Lambert – with last Saturday’s defeat to Stoke their sixth consecutive Premier League loss.

Sherwood appeared full of confidence upon his arrival at Villa Park, but reality appears to have set in after just one match in charge.

The former Tottenham boss is not ruling out the prospect of bringing in outside help for his players, as they prepare for a crucial clash with Newcastle this afternoon.

John Carver’s side suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Manchester City last time out, and Sherwood is hoping that fact added to a full week on the training ground will stand his side in decent stead to get a positive result.

‘If there’s someone out there that I think can help the group, whether that be a coach or sports psychologist, whoever it is, we wouldn’t turn it down. You look at it and say they should be used to it (struggling) but I don’t think you can ever get used to this.

‘We haven’t got a fantastic amount of time so when we’re on the training field, I have to give the boys some key messages. If I flood them with information then it will go to waste.

‘They’re picking it up on the training field. It’s completely different when you transfer your training form to match day. It takes a lot of character and a lot of bravery and confidence to be able to do that.

‘It’s a psychology job. I really mean it when I say “don’t be scared”. Don’t be scared to lose. Just get out there and give everything. You leave nothing on the pitch.

‘The quality is in the group but there is something in there which we need to dispel. I don’t think there’s any shame getting it out in the open because they’re going to have to dig deep.’